Breech construction and operation



Nov.12 ,"19 40 Q MILLv 2,221,706

BREECH CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION Filed July 7, 19 38 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 a k wl Yr I *3; N

'lNVENTOR.

BREECR CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION c. H. HAyl Filed July'7, 195

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEINTORI.

Patented Nov. 12,-

-- ticularly to explosives of the "slow burning typ nnEEcn CONSTRUCTION AND orEmuuoN Clinton H. Havill, South Orange, N. J., assignor to Eclipse Aviation Corporation, East Orange, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 7. 1938. Serial No. 217,939

1 I '7 Claims. This invention relates to. explosives, and parin powder" form, adapted to'be packed in a s table casing, or cartridge, and ignited to caise generation of a gas to be fed through a conduit, when the cartridge is properly positioned in the firing chamber of the breech.

An object of the invention is to provide novel means for.housing and successively firing a group .of cartridges, each containing a charge of powder from which the gases generated by the burning of the powder may be directed into a motor adapted to be actuated by the pressure of such gases. g

-A further object of the invention is to provide, in a cartridge firing'breech of the foregoing character, novel means for positioning the cartridges so that each is successively brought into registry withthe conduit leading to the motor to be actuated. 1 Another object .ofthe invention is to provide motor driven means for producing successive lateral and longitudinal movements of the cartridges, the lateral movement being toshift the cartridge into alignment with the outlet conmat and the longitudinal movement being to place the cartridge into the entering passage of the conduit. 'In this connection a feature of the invention is the provision of novel actuating meanswhereby all cartridges are shifted laterally as a unit while" only the single cartridge which is first to be fired is shifted longitudinally, and

' whereby longitudinal shifting is brought about automatically in predetermined relationship to the lateral shifting and by the same power actuated niea'ns.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a power actuated cartridge mechanism of the foregoing character, novel means for controlling 'energiz'ation and direction of rotation of the prime mover of the power actuating means and for automatically de-energizing the prime mover and firing the cartridge at the termination of the cartridge positioning action.

-in'g specification when read with reference to the These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from inspection of the followaccompanying drawings wherein is illustrated the preferred embodiment of theinvention. It

is tobe expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only,

and are -not designed as a definition ofthe limits of the invention, reference being bad to pended claims for this purpose,

In the drawings;

the ap,

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view ofadevice embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal view partlyin.eleva-- tion and partly in longitudinal section of'a por-. tion of the device shown in Fig. 1,-the path of 5 view being at right angles to that of Fig. l, and the sectioned portion being taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 5; i

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional line33ofFig.l;'

Fig. 4 is an end view in elevation taken from the left-end of Fig. l but assuming that the motor drive as-shown in Fig. 1 has been removed;

Fig. 5 is a transverse view alongthe line 5-5 .of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is an elevation view of the indexing plate as seen from the side opposite to that from which it is viewedinFig.5; v r Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the oneway driving means between the'indexing plate 2 ot Fig. 6 and the cartridge barrel, and taken apview along the proximatelyalongthe line 1-1 of-Fig.' 5, the' actual ing bracket I6, and an L-shaped slot l'l-fin the cylindrical portion thereof and terminating in a flange l8; the bracket 16 being for the support of theprime mover IS, the slot. IT for the-reception of the radial projection 2| constituting part 5 .of the motor driven nut 22, and the flange l8 being adapted for registry witha corresponding. flange 23 ofthe housing 24 in which the barrel 26 is'rotatable step by step tobring the cartridge containing cylinders "21 to 32, inclusive, sue 40 cessively intoalignment with the entrance portion 33 of the outlet conduit 34 which, asshown, is integral with the frame 24. A rod 31 constii tutes a guide rail on which the cartri e shifting carriage 38 is splined for longitudinal movement 45 along said rodand for thetransmission of a limited degree of rotation thereto as the cartridge containing cylinders are periodically shifted .to bring them successively into firing v position.

The not 22 (hereinafter called the driven, screw) is actuated in both its longitud nal and'i rotational movements by the motor driven sleeve 4| (hereinafter called the driving screw) whose outer end is threaded to engage thelcorresponding threads formed in the bore of the driven screw 22 and thus transmit rotary and longitudinal movement to the said driven screw in response to the rotation of the screw that is brought about through the driving connections which, as shown, include an armature shaft 43 of the motor, the worm 44 in which the said armature shaft terminates, the worm gear 46 with which the worm 44 is meshed, and the square shaft 41 secured to or integrated with the worm gear 46 and fitting within the correspondingly formed square bore of the left-hand end of the driving screw 4|. As shown the worm gear shaft 41 is also centrally bored to allow passage therethrough of a cable 5| by which current may be fed from a suitable source 52 (Fig. 9) to the metallic firing pin 53 which is carried along with the driven screw 22 in which it is centrally mounted, and which is thereby caused to'penetrate' the outer sealing disc or cap 54 of the cartridge in cylinder 21, thus bringing said pin into circuit-closing position, whereby ignition of the powder may occur upon closure of the normally open switch contacts 55, 56 by the means hereinafter described. It will be understood, of course, that the lead 5|, the firing pin 53 and the connections therebetween are suitably insulated from the shaft 41, thescrew elements 4| and' 22, and the other metallic parts, to prevent short-circuiting of the powder igniting current in advance of reaching the igniting element of the cartridge.

The novel means for causing, first, a lateral movement, and then, a longitudinal movement of the cartridge containing cylinder 21, includes the L-shaped slot l1 and the co-operatir g element 2| on the driven screw 22, also the teeth 6| thereon to register with and impart rotation to correspondingly formed teeth 62 on the cartridge shifter 38, and further includes the thrust flanges 63 and 64 formed on opposite ends of the shifter 38 and adapted to translate longitudinal movement.of the driven screw 22 to the said shifter 38; the flange 63 being directly engaged by the teeth 6| of the screw 22 and the flange 64 being indirectly engaged by said teeth 6|, there being an intervening flange or radial projection 66 on the cylindrical surface of the cartridge container 21 and corresponding radial projections 61, 68, 69, 18 and 1| on the cartridge cylinders 28 to 32 inclusive so that each of said cylinders may be successively shifted longitudinally by the successive longitudinal strokes of the driven screw 22 as the said cylinders 28 to 32- inclusive are successively brought into the position which is now occupied by the cylinder 21 as shown in Fig. 3-which position is the only one in which the teeth 6| of the nut 22 are in position to impart such longitudinal shifting to anyone of the said cartridge cylinders 21 to 32 inclusive.

The means for transmitting the rotary motion of the shifter 38 (brought about by the meshing of the teeth 6| and 62 and the limited'degree of rotation thereof prior to the longitudinal travel of the driven screw 22) to the cartridge cylinders 21 to 32 as a unit, while permitting the reverse rotation of the shifter 38 (also under the control of the driven screw 22) without a corresponding rotation of the said cartridge cylinders, is shown including an indexing plate 1| having a central recess 12 in which the shifter 38 fits, and an adiacent recess 13 to receive and allow passage therethrough of the driven screw 22. A com- 'municating slot 14 receives firing pin 53 and allows limited oscillation of the indexing plate 1| in relation to said pin, and in response to the carried downwardly of the slot Ila (as viewed 75' corresponding rotation of the shifter 38. As the plate 1| is thus rocked in a counter clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 5 by the corresponding rocking of the shifter 38 (induced by the driven screw 22) such a rocking movement is transmitted to the cartridge barrel 26 by virtue of the connection therebetween indicated in Figs. 2, 5, 6 and "I. As shown therein the connection includes a resilient hook 11 anchored atone end to the plate 1|, as indicated at :18, andhaving its other end extending into engagement with the straight side of the notch 19 which is cut into the end surface of the barrel 26, there being corresponding notches at angularly spaced inter- -vals around the barrel, the spacing corresponding to the spacing of the cartridges themselves.

With the construction above described it will be seen that counter clockwise rotation of the plate 1| will produce a corresponding counter clockwise rotation of the barrel 26 and hence a shifting of a new cartridge. into alignment with the outlet conduit 34, each time the driven screw 22 is caused to rotate to the limited degree per mitted by the transverse portion |1a of the bayonet slot H in which the projection 2| of the said screw 22 first travels upon energization of the driving motor l9. When, however, on the return stroke of the screw 22, the projection 2| again arrives at the slot Ho and commences to travel along said slot in a counterclockwise direction (and thus tends to carry the shifter 38 and the indexing plate 1| along therewith in said clockwise direction) the hook 11 will merely ride along the sloping surface of the notch 19 with which his then in registry; therefore the barrel 26 (restrained by the effect of detent 84 which now engages one of the depressions in the barrel surface) will remain undisturbed while the hook 11 continues to travel to the left as viewed in Fig. 7 untilconcurrently with the arrival of the projection 2| at the extreme end |1b of the slot |1a--the said hook 11 will have reached a position of registry with the next succeeding notch 19 in the barrel 26; it being understood that the hook 11 is sumciently resilient and flexible (and that the plate 1| is suillciently recessed, as indicated at to allow free travel of said hook along the surface of the barrel 26.

In order to assure a full and accurate return rotation of the shifter 38 as the driven screw 22 travels back to its initial position there is provided a spring mechanism 88, 8| surrounding the portions 82, 83, respectively, of a one-way clutch, the said portion 83 of which is keyed'to the rockshaft 31 so that upon rotation of the said rockshaft and shifter 38 in one direction a torsional stress is set up in spring 80, which torsiohal stress is eil'ective upon reverse rotation of the driven screw 22 and shifter to insure a closely following reverse rotation of the shifter 38 and thereby cause it to tend to return .to the initial setting (in which detent 36 tends to hold it) independently of the action of the teeth 6| thereupon during the concurrent reverse rotation of the driven screw 22. At the end of the said reverse rotation of the screw 22 the projection 2| thereof will have reached the end "I; of the transverse-portion |1a of the bayonet slot, and likewise will have engaged and operated the pro-' .jecting portion 9| of the automatic motor cutout switch 92, to move said element 92 into the open circuit position as indicated in Fig. 9, in which position it will remain until during the next cycle of operatidn the projection 2| is again in Fig. 2) and thus permits the spring 93 to re close-the switch 92.- A'simiiar cut-out switch I (which is similarly biased to the closed position by a spring 96) is adapted to be moved to,the' open position by -contact of the projection 2| with the end 91 thereof as the driven screw 22 reaches its foremost position correspon i to the full advance or firing position of the cartridge.

Closure of switch. I III controls energization of the armature and right-hand field winding I 03 of the motor l9, whileclosureof switchl02 controls energization of the armature and left-hand field winding I M of the motor, it being understood that the direction of rotation of the motor dependsupon which of these two windings is energized, and it being noted furthermore that said switches are in series with the switches 94 and 92 respectively, only one of which latter switches is in the closed position when the driven screw 22 is at either extremity of its. travel.

Therefore, in order to move the driven screw from this extreme position it is necessary to close that particular switch of the two manual switches NH and 12 whichcorresponds to the proper direction in which the motor must rotate in order to carry the screw in the direction necessary for a proper indexing and positioning of the cartridge mechanism.

After consumption of all cartridges, they may be removed from the barrel by releasing the nutretained latches 86 and 81 pivotally mounted in lower section 88 of the barrel clamp, the two be taken out and a fresh supply inserted ,in the cylinders 21-32, the flats 25 on the cylinders 21-32 facilitating proper alignment thereof, so that the projections 66-" thereon will successively'be in proper angular relation to the actuating flange 64 of the shifter.

If in any particular installation it is not desired to have the firing of.the cartridges occur automatically the automatic switch 55, 56 may be supplemented by a manual switch 50, in series therewith and normally open. The firing of the cartridge can then occur only by closure of said switch 50, and at a timewhen' member 2| is at the right-hand end of slot II, as viewed in Fig. 9.

What is claimed is:

1. In adevice oi the class described; in combination, a supporting frame having a barrel rotatable therein, rotating means for said barrel, said rotating means including a centrally disposed annulus and an indexing plate having a I one way driving connection with said barrel,

means for rotating said annulus and indexing plate through an arc of predetermined extent, said barrel containing a plurality of cartridge cylinders and said rotating means further includinga screw element engageable with one of said cartridge cylinders to move it axially forward to cartridge firing position, and means on said centrally disposed annulus for'engagement with said cylinder to move it axially rearward in response to reversal in the direction of movement of said screw element. v

2. In a device of the.class described, in combination, a cartridge firing pin, a supporting frame having a barrel rotatable therein, a guide rail extending along the axis of rotation of said barrel, rotating means for said barrel, said ro-- tating means including an annulus spiined for movement along said guide rail, and an indexing plate having a one-way driving connection with said barrel, said barrel containing 'a plurality of cartridge cylinders shiftable transversely vin response to movement of said indexingplate in one direction, to bring thecartridges successively into alignment withfsaid firing pin, and means,

for moving said annulus and. indexing plate throughan arc ofpredetermined extent and for thereafter advancing said annulus, firing pin and one of saidcartridges to the firing position.

3. In a device of the class described, in combination, a supporting frame having a slotted portion and-a barrel rotatable therein, rotating means for said barrel, said rotating means including an indexing plate having a one-way driving connection'with saic'l barrel, and motor driven means for rotating. said indexing plate through an arc of predetermined extent, said motor driven means including a member constrained'to move along first one and then the other of two inter secting sections of said slotted portion of said frame to limit the degree of rotary movement of said constrained member and to insure a'predetermined degree of axial travel at the conclusion of the limited rotary movement thereof.

4. In a,device of the case described, in combi-" nation, a supporting frame having a slotted portion and a barrel rotatable therein, rotating means for said barrelfsaid rotating means includan arc of predetermined extent, said motor driven means including a member constrained to move along first one and then the other of two intering an indexing plate having a one-way driving secting sections of said slotted portion of said frame to limit the degree of rotary movement thereof and to insure a predetermined degree of axial travel at the conclusion of the limited rotary movement thereof, and said motor driven means further including a member cooperating with saidbarrel to hold the latter against further v connection with saidbarrel, and motor driven means for rotating said indexing plate through an arc of redetermined extent, said motor driven means including a member constrained to move along first one and then the other of two intersecting sections of said slotted portion of said frame to limit the degree of rotary movement thereof and to insure a predetermined'degree of axial travel at the conclusion of the limited rotary movement thereof, and said motor driven meansfurther'including a member cooperating with said barrel to hold the latter against further rotation at the conclusion of the rotary movement of said motor driven means and during the subsequent axial travel thereof, a plurality of cartridge cylinders disposed in said barrel and rotatable therewith, and means for causing said motor driven means to become efiective to advance one of said cartridge cylinders axially, in

response to the axial travel of said motor driven means.

6. In a device of the class described, in combination, a supporting frame having a slotted por-' tion and a barrel rotatable therein, motor'driven means for rotating said barrel through an arc of predetermined extent, said motor driven means including a member constrained to move along first one and then the other of two intersecting sections of said, slotted portion of said frame to limit the degree of rotary movement thereof and to insure a predetermined degree of axial travel at the conclusion :of the limited rotary movement thereof.

'7. In a device of the class described, in combination, a cartridge firing pin, a supporting frame having a barrel rotatable therein, a guide rail extending along the axis of rotation of said barrel, rotating means for said barrel,. said rotating means including an annulus splined for movement along said guide rafl, and an indexing plate having a one-way driving connection with said barrel, said barrel containing a plurality of cartridge cylinders shiftable transversely in response to movement of saidindexing plate in one direction, to bring the cartridges successively into alignment with said firing pin, and means for moving said annulus and indexing plate through an arc of predetermined extent and for thereafter advancing said annulus, firing pin and one of said cartridges tovthe firing position, said last-named means including a screw element meshing with said annulus for unitary move- 1 ment therewith, both angularly and axially.

CLINTON H. HAVILL. 

